Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament, spoke of how he would soon be visiting Tunisia not to mention Egypt. The express purpose of the visit was to confirm the European Community’s full support of the wave of democratization that was sweeping the region of North Africa and much of the Middle East. Strategic coalitions for the short term and long term were to be discussed as well.

Mr Buzek spoke of how he was “in favor of establishing a new kind of partnership with Southern Mediterranean neighbors.” An eye was also to be kept on the rapidly developing situation in Libya. “What our friends in North Africa need today is not only financial assistance but also expertise and technical assistance in the long term” he said.

The European Investment Bank, the economic bulwark of the European Union, has already lent Tunisia 600 million Euros. More aid will only be possible if democracy flourishes in the country.

Najib Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister met with many of his supporters and fans in SK Sri Aman in Kampung Tok Nik on Saturday. He cheerfully announced that it was a clear sign that they were against the illegal assembly planned for the 9th of July and were only faithful to him and his party. He was quoted as saying: “If the attendance for a function organized in an opposition held state was so high, the support in states under Barisan Nasional Rule was certain to be greater still.”

As the crowds lionized him, Najib Razak spoke of how “Ambiga should not think herself so strong. We will not budge at all, fighting for the truth. We will keep our claws.” He further said that “the opposition leader S. Ambiga must realize that the people support the struggles and policies of Barisan and they do not side with the opposition and are against the assembly.”

Malaysia has seen conflict and a lot of finger-pointing between the government and the opposition. For now Najib Razak is still in power and he plans to keep it that way.

The anti-government and pro-Shiite protests in Bahrain were crushed with the help of Saudi forces from across the Causeway. And the West turned a blind eye towards this injustice. Until now the protesters had been brought before military tribunals but this has just abruptly been stopped. Now they are being presented before civilian courts. This decision has come along with a softening in the government’s stance.

The government is Sunni but the majority of people living in Bahrain are Shiite. This is where essential differences arose. Now the government wants to negotiate or at least talk things over with the opposition. The King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has set up an independent commission which will investigate rumors of human rights abuses during the government crackdown on protesters.

Special files will be looked into and the defendants will be allowed to secretly meet with witnesses. The government has declared that few other governing agencies have ever gone into the causes of riots.

The state officials in Iraq are ready for some lean thinking. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri Al Maliki, has set a timetable according to which the ministerial positions are to be merged and cut in half. The plan is to improve government efficiency. At present, there are 44 cabinet members and 47 ministries. These are to be reduced to 25. However, it was not clarified which ministries were to stay and which ones were to be discarded.

This shakedown of governmental positions and privileges is a necessity although an inconvenient one. It is for the sake of improving the daily functioning of the state. Iraqi statesmanship remains in an experimental stage especially after its colonization by the United States. There have been allegations of graft and bureaucratic red tape has plagued the nascent government.

The trimming of the ruling elite in Iraq may ruffle a few feathers among those who don’t want to leave their positions of power. This is only natural since those who have become habituated to remaining in the corridors of power are for obvious reasons unwilling to relinquish control.

Skirmishes took place overnight in Egypt as police fired tear gas at protesters which included a majority of youth. Over 1000 people were severely injured including 40 policemen. The whole incident began when the family members of people killed during the toppling of Hosni Mubarak’s corrupt government got together to hold an event in Cairo. Several disgruntled individuals arrived during these proceedings complaining that their relatives had not been included.

The result was chaos. As differences surfaced the opposing parties came to blows. The result was a riot and police was called in aggravating the already delicate situation. This was the first such incident of violence since the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak from office. It shows that all is not well in a yet fragile created order in Egypt. All night the street fighting continued and even in the early hours of the morning there were youth hurling stones at the forces of authority.

Many of the people who participated in the confrontation bore grudges against the delay in bringing corrupt officials to justice. The revolution may yet possess the metaphorical power to devour its own children.

The Organization of Islamic Countries was renamed Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Members of many Islamic countries met in Astana, Kazakhstan to strengthen the bonds among the denizens of the Muslim World. The Secretary General of the enterprise called for a decade of action in countries such as Palestine, Libya and Syria. He spoke of how “unfortunately the Ummah still lacks – in certain parts – the necessary internal cohesion, strength, solidarity.”

He also declared that “the Muslim World is going through a defining moment in its history.” Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General, also said that “the OIC Charter and Ten Year Program of Action are guided by the principles of moderation and modernization.” He called for the member states to recognize the Palestinian state. Libya and Syria were also cause for concern.

The Muslim World has its series of problems and faces certain teething troubles in its progress. The fact that the different cultures that constitute the Islamic Polity are willing to sit down together and iron out any differences is a sign of hope and pride.